Vowels[]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | ï ⟨ɨ⟩ | u |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Open | æ | a | ä ⟨ɒ⟩ |
The central vowel /ɨ/ is the default epenthetic vowel of the language and almost totally predictable in its occurrence.[2] Likewise, /æ/, normally an allophone of /a/, is fossilized in some words and might be justified as a separate phoneme.[3]
Consonants[]
| Labial | Alveolar | Palato-velar | Uvular | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain | Labialized | Plain | Labzd | ||||
| Plosive | Voiceless | p | t | k | kw ⟨kʷ⟩ | q | qw ⟨qʷ⟩ |
| Voiced | b | d | ɡ | ɡw ⟨ɡʷ⟩ | c ⟨ɢ⟩ | cw ⟨ɢʷ⟩ | |
| Affricate | Voiceless | ts ⟨t͡s⟩ | tx ⟨t͡ʃ⟩ | ||||
| Voiced | dz ⟨d͡z⟩ | dy ⟨d͡ʒ⟩ | |||||
| Fricative | Voiceless | f | s | x ⟨ʃ⟩ | |||
| Voiced | v | z | y ⟨ʒ⟩ | ||||
| Post-stopped fricative | s͡t | ʃ͡t | |||||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | ŋw ⟨ŋʷ⟩ | |||
| Flap | h ⟨ʙ⟩ | r | |||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | ||||
- Palatal and velar together in Awngi form only one place of articulation,[5] which is called palato-velar.
- Post-stopped fricatives are assumed to be single segments in Awngi for phonotactic reasons.[6] Other linguists (e.g. Richard Wiese for German[7]) have called such sounds suffricates.
- /h/ is found word-initially in loanwords in free variation with Zero.
- /r/ does not occur word-initially. It is pronounced as a flap [ɾ] when not geminate.[8]
- Between vowels, /b/ is pronounced as a voiced bilabial fricative [β].[8]
- /d/ is pronounced retracted, with slight retroflexion.[8]
- /ɢ/ and /ɢʷ/ are usually pronounced as voiced uvular fricatives [ʁ] and [ʁʷ].
- Although /d͡z/ and /d͡ʒ/ are phonetically realized as fricatives [z] and [ʒ] in many environments, they are very much the voiced counterparts of the voiceless affricates with respect to phonological rules.[9]
- The labialization contrast in the palato-velar and uvular consonants is found only before the vowels /i, e, a/ and word-finally.[8]
Tones[]
Palmer[10] and Hetzron[11] both identified three distinctive tone levels in Awngi: high, mid and low. The low tone, however, only appears in word-final position on the vowel a. A falling tone (high-mid) appears on word-final syllables only. Joswig[12] reanalyzes the system as having only two distinctive tone levels, with the low tone being a phonetic variant of the mid tone.
Syllable structure[]
The Awngi syllable in most cases fits the maximum syllable template CVC (C standing for a consonant, V for a vowel). This means there is only one (if any) consonant each in the syllable onset and the rhyme. Exceptions to this happen at word boundaries, where extrametrical consonants may appear.
Phonological processes[]
Gemination[]
In positions other than word-initial, Awngi contrasts geminate and non-geminate consonants. The contrast between geminate and non-geminate consonants does not show up for the following consonants: /ɢ, ɢʷ, t͡s, t͡ʃ, j, w, ʒ/.
Vowel harmony[]
Whenever a suffix containing the [+high] vowel i is added to a stem, a productive vowel harmony process is triggered. Hetzron calls this process regressive vowel height assimilation. The vowel harmony only takes place if the underlying vowel of the last stem syllable is e. This vowel and all preceding instances of e and o will take over the feature [+high], until a different vowel is encountered. Then the vowel harmony is blocked. Hetzron[13] provides the following example: /moleqés-á/ ‘nun’ vs. /muliqís-í/ ‘monk’
References[]
- ↑ Joswig (2006), p. 786
- ↑ Joswig (2006), p. 792
- ↑ Hetzron, R. (1969) The Verbal System of Southern Agaw. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles.
- ↑ Joswig (2010), p. 2
- ↑ Joswig (2010), p. 9
- ↑ Joswig (2010), p. 15
- ↑ Wiese, Richard (2000) The Phonology of German, Oxford University Press, p. 265
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Hetzron (1997), p. 478-479
- ↑ see Hetzron (1969), p. 7f
- ↑ Palmer (1959), p. 273
- ↑ Hetzron (1969), p. 6
- ↑ Joswig (2009)
- ↑ Hetzron (1997), p. 485